Three Oceans Regional Strategy

Present in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, France has five departments and regions and seven overseas collectivities which are home to 2.7 million French citizens. Scattered across the globe, the overseas territories concentrate 97% of France’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – the second largest in the world – covering 11 million km². The territories are located in three large ocean basins that span a broad diversity of countries.

Given its longstanding and unique ties both with the French Overseas Territories and with their neighbouring foreign countries, AFD has a singular advantage among development agencies and French financial public actors when it comes to tackling the globalised challenges set out in the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The only development agency to act on either side of its national
maritime borders, AFD has the mission, through its dialogue with the stakeholders, to leverage and support financial flows between these territories, which have strengths and weaknesses that compensate each other and offer opportunities for cross-development.

AFD intervenes in three ocean basins (the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean) to achieve three overarching goals which all promote “a world in common”:

  • national solidarity to promote the economic and social development of the French Overseas Territories in line with the “5.0 Trajectory”17 supported by the Ministry for Overseas France to adapt the SDGs to the specifics of the overseas territories;
  • international solidarity to further the development of neighbouring foreign countries, particularly those that are a priority for France (Comoros, Haiti, Madagascar);
  • and more effective integration of common challenges, the first of which is the fight against climate change and the strengthening of social link.
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